Plenty of goals should be expected at the PreZero Arena on Saturday, with Hoffenheim hosting Borussia Monchengladbach in the final round of fixtures before the winter break in Germany.
The hosts unexpectedly occupy a Champions League spot heading into the clash following a strong run of form in recent weeks, whilst the visitors find themselves in all sorts of trouble following four successive defeats.
Match preview
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Although their four-match winning streak was ended at Bayer Leverkusen's BayArena on Wednesday evening, the 2-2 draw was an impressive point for Hoffenheim to pick up considering the calibre of their opponents.
A victory would have taken Sebastian Hoeness's side above their hosts into third place, but a point on the road against strong opponents will be viewed as a point earned rather than two points dropped.
This is particularly the case when it is taken into account that Die Kraichgauer found themselves two goals behind heading into the final 10 minutes, before Angelo Stiller and Munas Dabbur netted a quickfire double in the space of four minutes to draw the European-chasing sides level.
Following largely frustrating top-half and mid-table finishes in recent years, as well as an opening to the campaign that yielded just three wins from the opening nine Bundesliga fixtures, a successful season was not to be expected.
However, five wins and just one defeat from the last seven have shot Hoffenheim up the table and into fourth, with three points on Saturday ensuring a Champions League spot would be theirs heading into the winter break.
Although the style of play has seen Saturday's hosts concede eight goals across their last four games, it is also one that has provided 13 at the right end of the pitch during the same period, meaning there could be plenty of entertainment on show at the PreZero Arena this weekend.
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In addition to the high number of goals being netted at either end of the pitch for the home side on Saturday, there is additional evidence to support the theory of it being an entertaining clash when Monchengladbach's recent fixtures are taken into account too.
Adi Hutter's side have lost four in a row heading into matchday 17 on Saturday, in a spell where they have conceded a remarkable 17 goals.
The Austrian boss, who arrived from Wednesday's opponents Eintracht Frankfurt back in the summer, is under severe pressure to turn results around in the near future following the recent troubles.
A 3-2 defeat on home soil to his previous employers in midweek will have hurt considerably, and it is a result that leaves Die Fohlen in a disappointing 13th place at the time of writing.
Just one point separates Gladbach from Augsburg in the relegation playoff spot in 16th, with a six-point gap to the European places above them only being this narrow due to the competitiveness of the large group of sides battling it out for those places.
The loss at Borussia-Park in midweek followed up a 4-1 defeat at the hands of RB Leipzig, an incredible 6-0 thumping by Freiburg in front of their own supporters and a humiliating 4-1 derby loss against Rhine rivals FC Koln.
Another at Hoffenheim on Saturday could prove costly for Hutter, who would leave the club's hierarchy with plenty to ponder during the upcoming winter break that follows the weekend's trip.
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Team News
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Hoffenheim boss Hoeness will consider the introduction of Stiller and Dabbur from the start following their game-saving impact off the bench in midweek.
Sebastian Rudy and Christoph Baumgartner would be the likely duo to drop out in order to make way, which would see Dabbur form a three-man attack alongside the influential Andrej Kramaric and Ihlas Bebou.
Ermin Bicakcic, Robert Skov, Dennis Geiger, Marco John and Jacob Bruun Larsen are all short-term absentees that are expected to remain out until the new year.
Meanwhile, the visitors will be without young midfielder Kouadio Kone on Saturday, after the Frenchman picked up his fifth yellow card of the season in the defeat to Frankfurt.
Nico Elvedi and Jonas Hofmann are also big misses in defence and midfield respectively, whilst Jordan Beyer could return following a tendon injury.
The likes of Patrick Herrmann, Christoph Kramer and Marcus Thuram will be pushing for starts, along with captain Lars Stindl who returns from a one-match suspension, as Hutter looks to find a starting 11 to halt their losing streak.
Hoffenheim possible starting lineup:
Baumann; Richards, Grillitsch, Vogt; Akpoguma, Samassekou, Stiller, Raum; Kramaric; Dabbur, Bebou
Borussia Monchengladbach possible starting lineup:
Sommer; Ginter, Zakaria, Bensebaini; Herrmann, Kramer, Neuhaus, Scally; Stindl, Thuram; Embolo
We say: Hoffenheim 3-1 Borussia Monchengladbach
As mentioned above, the goalscoring form of both sides, as well as their leaky defences of late, mean a thrilling encounter full of entertainment should be expected at the PreZero Arena on Saturday.
With Hoffenheim in such fine form in recent weeks, coupled with Gladbach's significant problems, a home win looks likely in this one.
Top tip
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Hoffenheim win with a probability of 53.63%. A win for Borussia Monchengladbach had a probability of 24.48% and a draw had a probability of 21.9%.
The most likely scoreline for a Hoffenheim win was 2-1 with a probability of 9.66%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 1-0 (7.78%) and 2-0 (7.63%). The likeliest Borussia Monchengladbach win was 1-2 (6.23%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (9.84%). The actual scoreline of 1-1 was predicted with a 9.8% likelihood.
